Chris Pratt and Charlie Day portray Mario and Luigi, two plumbers with mustaches who are transported from Brooklyn to the Mushroom Kingdom, where they must save Princess Peach and prevent King Koopa from taking over the world.
“Did any child not play Super Mario Brothers in the 1980s?”
The launching of the latest version of the best-selling video game has been heightened by this question.
Numerous games, an animated TV series, an animated Japanese film, a live-action US film, and even a theme park have contributed to the franchise’s entrenchment in popular culture.
Now, plumbers Mario and Luigi are receiving the Hollywood treatment in a feature-length animation voiced by Chris Pratt of Jurassic Park and Charlie Day of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
Both acknowledge that “making a mistake” is currently foremost in their minds.
Pratt tells, “You can sense the pressure of these characters.
“There is a predetermined expectation… all of this nostalgia, from enjoying the games as a child, the music, the characters, and Easter eggs.
“Anyone who played Nintendo as a child or adored these characters will see the film.
“The same thing that has you thinking, ‘Oh, please don’t screw this up – it’s such a big part of my childhood!’ will make you so elated and happy when you see the film, because thankfully we didn’t screw it up.”
The day continues, “Especially how passionate everyone is, as everyone grew up with the characters.” They cherish them. Our task is to perform the best possible acting.”
Some gaming fans have criticised Pratt’s casting, citing his Brooklyn accent and lack of Italian background.
The day is eager to defend his co-star: “I have as much Italian ancestry as Robert De Niro, so yes [I do have Italian heritage], but I’m going to vouch for my friend Chris here and say, having seen the film, that his performance is outstanding.
“I believe everyone should wait to decide until they’ve seen the film, as the actor does an excellent job.”
Despite the criticism, Pratt says he eagerly accepted the role.
“You know very little about Mario and Luigi playing video games, Princess Peach, Wario, Yoshi, or any of these other characters,” he says.
“[Mario] is fundamentally an American blue-collar worker. And when Illumination [the film’s animation studio] called and thought I would be a good fit for that role, I was like, “Of course, I’ll do this.” I was ecstatic.”
In 1981, Mario first appeared as a character in Donkey Kong. In 1985, he got his own NES platform game from his 1983 arcade game.
Nintendo, founded in 1889, developed handmade playing cards until the late 1970s, when it started making consoles.
The 1993 Bob Hoskins-John Leguizamo film was severely disliked. It was directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic. The producers will hope that this version is more successful.
A few years ago, adaptations of video games for television and film were synonymous with failure.
With adaptations of games such as The Last Of Us, The Witcher, and Arcane (the first video game adaptation to receive an Emmy for primetime) achieving both critical and commercial success, many believe that gaming is now ready to enter the mainstream.
Globally, the video game industry is worth hundreds of billions of pounds, and in the United Kingdom, it is one of the fastest-growing industries. Because many people turn to the game during lockdowns, its prevalence has increased in recent years.
Pratt and Day concur that the current era is flourishing for video games.
Day asks, “Have we grown better at it? I believe that going back many years, there was a significant gap between video game films.
“Right now, I believe they’re producing films with as much care as they do other narratives. Before, I believe the sentiment was, “Well, it’s just a one-time event for children.”
Pratt, who is married to Katherine Schwarzenegger, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s daughter, has received favorable feedback from his A-list in-laws.
“I brought my gaming-obsessed brother-in-law, Christopher Schwarzenegger [Schwarzenegger, 25, Arnold’s youngest son],” he says.
“[He] grew up playing all of these video games, and he said, ‘That’s the greatest video game movie I’ve ever seen’. Very impressive commendation”
Fans of the franchise will be delighted to learn that additional installments are possible.
“Illumination [the US studio that collaborated with Nintendo to create the film], they really bring a lot of what is in the game, and not just the first game, but many of the Mario games – and other Nintendo games as well,” explains Day.
Pratt adds, “It kind of piques your interest in the possibility of a Nintendo Cinematic Universe, which is fairly cool. I anticipate that you will encounter more characters over the next decade.”
Will the actors’ 11-year-old sons’ reactions to the film serve as the true litmus test for audience reception?
Pratt and Day disagree.
“I believe my harshest critic will be a middle-aged man living in a basement,” Day says.
However, I believe my son will be all right with it.
Only time will tell what the rest of the world thinks of the Super Mario Brothers’ latest adventure, with both boys being “beyond excited” to see their fathers tackle one of the finest video games of all time.
